The Perfect Holiday Apps!

If you have an iPad or are thinking about getting your child one this holiday season, you may feel overwhelmed by the selection of apps available for download. Not sure which games are well-liked, age-appropriate or educational? I’ve got you covered! Here are 15 great iPad apps sure to please, educate and entertain your little ones this holiday season.

1. Fruits - Connect the Dots and Add Colors

A free version of this app is available. This fun game consists in connecting dots by alphabet or by numbers. Children can then add colour to their drawings! FREE (for ages 3-7)

2. Frozen Free Fall

We all know that the Disney animated film “Frozen” is incredibly popular with children this year. So there’s no doubt they’ll be thrilled when you download this epic puzzle matching adventure in the Kingdom of Arendelle! FREE

3. Cut the Rope

Keep the lovable Om Nom’s sweet tooth satisfied by cutting ropes filled with bundles of delicious candy so these fall into his mouth! This app offers hours of entertainment for children 4 years or older. $4.99

4. Township

Township is a truly unique city-building and farming experience where one can share their vision of a perfect town. Players can open community building (cafés, cinemas) or build famous landmarks, grow and process harvested crops, change the landscape to suite architectural needs, etc. This game will stimulate creativity and offer a perfect opportunity to interact as a family and discuss social values. Best of all, it’s FREE!

5. Guess Who?

This is a timeless classic to develop logical thinking. This educational game of deduction will be perfect for the whole family during those winter snow days. With its 5 game modes and 5 difficulty levels (very easy to very hard), each will find a suitable challenge.

6. Spot The Difference: Traveling!

This game improves a child’s sense of observation while having fun discovering the world! They’ll have to spot the tricky differences between two images to collect country flags (20 in all) and unlock new countries. This game is both entertaining and educational. FREE (first 5 levels)

7. Memory 2 • The Premium Card Matching Game

The Memo 2 game stimulates memory and concentration, and is suitable for all ages. A two-player mode is available, as well as an educative mode which lets you pick the card images you want to play with, to display/hide the text below your images, or even read this text out loud thanks to speech synthesis. Moreover, you can learn Spanish or French by setting different languages for the first and second cards. At $1.99, it really is a great value!

8. Nighty Night Circus

Over 3 million parents put their kids to bed with “Nighty Night”! This edition offers a magical setting with 8 circus animals, each eager to show off their tricks to your child before going to sleep. Your child can then bring them to bed by switching off the lights or blowing out candles. “Nighty Night Circus” is the perfect app for the day-to-day bedtime routine with its cute animals, sweet lullaby music and great narration. $2.99 (for ages 5 and under)

Happy holidays to you and your loved ones!

Marielle Potvin, Remedial Teacher